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PROFESSOR OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

NEW IDEALS IN RURAL SCHOOLS

BY

GEORGE HERBERT BETTS, PH. D.

PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY
CORNELL COLLEGE, IOWA

[Illustration]

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
BOSTON, NEW YORK AND CHICAGO

The Riverside Press Cambridge

COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY GEORGE HERBERT BETTS

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

CONTENTS

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION v

PREFACE ix

I. THE RURAL SCHOOL AND ITS PROBLEM 1

II. THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE RURAL SCHOOL 25

III. THE CURRICULUM OF THE RURAL SCHOOL 57

IV. THE TEACHING OF THE RURAL SCHOOL 92

OUTLINE 121

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

In presenting a second monograph on the rural school problem in this
series we register our sense of the importance of rural education. Too
long have the rural schools suffered from neglect. Both the local
communities and the State have overlooked the needs of the rural school
system. At the present hour there is an earnest awakening of interest in
rural life and its institutions. Already there is a small but certain
movement of people toward the country and the vocation of agriculture. A
period of agricultural prosperity, the reaction of men and women against
the artificialities of city life, the development of farming through the
application of science, and numerous other factors have made country
life more congenial and have focused attention upon its further needs.
It is natural, therefore, that the rural school should receive an
increased share of attention.

Educational administrators, legislators, and publicists have become
aware of their responsibility to provide the financial support and the
efficient organization that is needed to develop country schools. The
more progressive of them are striving earnestly to provide laws that
will aid rather than hamper the rural school system. In his monograph on
The Improvement of the Rural School , Professor Cubberley has done much
to interpret current efforts of this type. From the standpoint of state
administration he has contributed much definite information and
constructive suggestion as to how the State shall respond to the
fundamental need for (1) more money, (2) better organization, and (3)
real supervision for rural schools.

It is not so clear, however, that rural patrons, school directors, and
teachers have become fully aware of their duty in the matter of rural
school improvement. To be sure much has been done by way of experiment
in many rural communities; but it can scarcely be said that rural
communities in general are thoroughly awake to the importance of their
schools. The evidence to the contrary is cumulative. The first immediate
need is to reawaken interest in the school as a center of rural life,
and to suggest ways and means of transmuting this communal interest into
effective institutional methods. To this end, Professor Betts has been
asked to treat the rural school problem from a standpoint somewhat
different from that assumed by Professor Cubberley; that is, from the
point of view of the local community immediately related to, and
concerned with, the rural school. In consequence his presentation
emphasizes the things that ought to be done by the local
authorities, parent, trustee, and teacher. Its soundness may well be
judged by the pertinent order of his discussion. Having stated his
problem, he initiates his discussion by suggesting how the social
relations of the school are to be reorganized; only later does he pass
to the detail of curricula and teaching methods. It is a clear
recognition of the fact that the community is the crucial factor in the
making of a school. The State by sound fiscal and legislative policies
may do much to make possible a better country school; but only the local
authorities can realize it... Continue reading book >>